The only Azeri school in Tbilisi facing closure threat - UPDATED

February 16
18:06

The information that teaching in the Azerbaijani language is cancelled in Georgia is far from being true. The Azerbaijan Education Minister Misir Mardanov told in his interview with the ANS TV channel that much information related to the tecahing of the Azerbaijanis living in Georgia is wrong, Trend reports.

He noted, he retained links with the Georgian Education Minister and the relations between the both countries' ministries are going on.

"A new law on Education is adopted in Georgia to be effective in 2010. Under the new law, irrespective of the language of teaching, all learning citizens of the country must know perfectly the history, language, culture and geography of Georgia. The same with us, in Azerbaijan and I find this law just and fare," Mardanov said. 

Voicing his attitude to the unification of the Azerbaijani schools in Georgia the Minister stated, he assesses this move as right. "No need to maintain schools consisting of 10-20 pupils," he said.

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February 15
15:46

As ANS reports, the director of the school states, the state budget frame of the reforms is not sufficient the expenses of the school. Salman Pirmammadov, director of secondary school #73 in Tbilisi said that the school with an old history had 112 students, 18 teachers and 6 technical staff and school could not give their monthly payment with this voucher, because this did not cover voucher of 112 people.

The voucher for students is 2035 laris per a month, but the monthly expenses of school are 4900 laris and the problem was that the sponsor's help was not a way out the situation. This could supply only temporary activity of the school. It was considered that the intervention of the government of Georgia and Azerbaijan to this issue was need.

Leyla Babayeva, the school teacher said that the school was the only resource for income and they believed that this problem would be solved among two countries positively. School employees addressed to Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Georgia for help.

Elkhan Polukhov, the head of press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Georgia said that the Embassy members met with the Minister of Education of Georgia, Kakhid Lomayn and told him that the closing of school #73 or mixing the school with another school would be impossible because of the school being the historical example of Azerbaijanis living Georgia.

The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan was informed about this. But there is no official decision made about Azerbaijani school and the danger about closing the school still remains. The school teachers can not get their monthly payment for 2 months.